Monday, December 20, 2010

The Rio Grande Valley Zeitgeist Movement will hold it's eight general meeting on Wednesday, December 22, in the private home of one of our members. Ray Perez has graciously offered us his apartment to use and we thank him for hosting us. Ray has posted extensive instructions to help find his apartment at our Google groups page, and I encourage you to use those directions or contact us in order to help make your way.

Our agenda for this meeting will be to finalize details for the Zeitgeist Moving Forward screening at the South Texas College auditorium. In addition, we will be talking about the next McAllen Art Walk and our activism there, as well as other activism opportunities. In addition, we will discuss producing a standard hard copy of information that new members can use to help develop a clear idea of what our movement is about and how we hope to change the world for the better. We should also start to make definite plans for a meeting and orientation of any new members we receive after the ZMF screening. Along with that, we will focus on getting better at articulating our ideas to people in a more effective manner through questions and answers, and mock arguments. We should conclude by discussing options for the upcoming Z-Day which will be March 11, 12 and 13 2011.

As we discussed, we encourage members to bring their ideas about these topics, especially what they think should be in the orientation materials. In addition, we encourage you to bring a snack and/or beverage to share with those attending. Thank you for your time and attention.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Date: Friday December 3rd, 2010
Time: 6-10pm
Location: North Main St.
Participants: 14

The Rio Grande Valley Zeitgeist Movement was represented at McAllen's Artwalk festival, with many members contributing flyers, DVD's, live music performances, t-shirts, a table, chairs and even a laptop which was playing the Zeitgeist Addendum film. Our activity was basically focused around three separate areas and activities. Initially, we were set up with a table in front of a friendly art gallery. Next, we moved to a crowded area where a man on a loudspeaker was arguing with passers by about various religious views. Thirdly, we moved to a grassy area where we distributed our remaining flyers and DVD's while one of our members performed live music and sang about changing society.

We initially set up a small table with our information and DVD's so all those who were travelling on the sidewalk would have access to it. We were also using a laptop to display the Zeitgeist Addendum film. Unfortunately, a local code enforcement officer informed us that we were not allowed to use a table on the sidewalk, even if we had permission from the storefront owner who we were in front of. One of our members received a citation, and we were forced to remove our table from the area. Fortunately, we maintained our location and continued to pass out flyers and continue to show the film. After several hours, and interesting conversations with various members of the community, we headed north to a more populated area.

There was a large crowd growing around a very passionate man on a loudspeaker who was arguing with an unruly crowd about various religious topics. There were heightened emotions and voices raised on both sides of the discussion. We took the opportunity to speak both with the crowd and the man on the microphone and tried to make people aware of our movement and our message. While this lead to generally mixed results, several of our members made their opinions known to all and sundry who were around to hear them, and we had some good interactions with various members of the public. I personally engaged a couple of people and we discussed our different views about a resource based economy in comparison to older forms of communism. Another person actually was stating his opinion that our current monetary system was just and even a positive force in our lives. While I don't believe I was able to make either change their opinion, they both came away with a discussion of their beliefs and values and hopefully this will lead to deeper introspection and a realization that we need a new direction.

During this time, one of our members was able to provide us with our freshly printed shirts, and many of us put them on in solidarity with the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement. We decided to move farther north, and stopped in front of a nice tree in a grassy area. This is where one of our members produced a guitar and harmonica and proceeded to draw a small crowd with her music and voice. We distributed the last of our flyers and discs, and shared some thoughts on how the evening had gone. We realized that this event was a first time for activism for many of us involved, and that while we still had a lot to learn and experience, we were grateful for the opportunity to engage with the public and hopeful that we would become more proficient at it in upcoming events. We concluded by asking some very nice people to take group photos to help commemorate the outing.

I would like to thank everyone involved in last night's Artwalk activism. Not only to our members who gave of their time, materials, resources and talents, but also those in the public who took our flyers, asked us questions and discussed with us their views on how we can make a better world for all people. We ask that you join us and people all over the world to help make our vision of a better society a reality.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Date: Friday December 3rd, 2010
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Main St. sidewalks, between Business 83 and Pecan Blvd., McAllen, TX
Purpose: We will be engaging the public with the ideas of the Venus Project and a Resource Based Economy through our literature, DVD's, flyers and other media.

The Rio Grande Valley Zeitgeist Movement will be represented at the upcoming McAllen Artwalk event this Friday. Many of our memebers will bring flyers, free DVD's, tshirts, banners and even musical performances to help make the general population aware of our organization and ideas. You can read more about our plans at our Google groups communication platform and help shape this and future activities that we plan.

I believe that we will be setting up our table in front of the friendly S. Klein Galleries, at the corner of Main and Fir.If this is not the case, please contact me immediately and we can change the details, but from all the information I have gathered, this would be the location that we discussed.

Please remember to dress warmly, bring a container of water and/or snacks if you plan on staying outdoors for a prolonged period of time. If you have any comments, questions or corrections, please contact me. Thank you for your time and attention, and I hope to see you there!

The Rio Grande Valley Zeitgeist Movement held it's seventh general meeting in McAllen, Texas on Wednesday evening. This was one of our most well attended meetings, and we discussed some important upcoming events both to our local group and the global movement efforts.

Our main topic of discussion was regarding the upcoming McAllen Artwalk event coming up this Friday, between 6 and 10 PM along Main St. Our general plans are to arrive early so we can set up our table and chairs near a location with electrical power. Many members will be producing and distributing flyers, DVD's, banners, Tshirts with relevant designs and even musical performances. More importantly, we will be engaging directly with the public and attempting to help people understand our ideas and direction. This has lead to some members having concerns about the unity and tone of our message, and we ask that any member who has an objection to anything that we distribute to others on behalf of our organization to notify us immediately so we can discuss and alter the document if neccessary to better conform to the Movement's goals. I encourage all of our members to provide feedback on the proposed flyer designs that have been posted in our discussion and alert us about any potential problems that you may see. Previous experience has shown that many people are aware of the films or the movement, but unaware that we had a local chapter. We will also likely be encountering those individuals who are critical of our ideas, and attempting to help allay their fears or help them to better understand what we are trying to accomplish. This will be a challenge for all of us involved, but a necessary and ultimately rewarding one, for helping others understand is important to enhancing our own comprehension. I encourage everyone who supports the movement to stop by and let us know that you are in the community. I also hope that those who have serious questions or concerns to come engage us directly so that we can help each other find common ground and a better understanding for all involved.

Our second main topic of discussion was that of the upcoming screening of Zeitgeist Moving Forward. We will be confirming our available time slots with the STC venues sometime in the coming weeks, and that will help inform our decisions regarding what specific times we wish to show the film, and if we can dedicate time to showing the previous films and lectures as well. As I have mentioned in the Google Groups discussion platform, I have inquired with Cine El Rey as to their venue availability and pricing structure, and they informed me that a free to public non-profit screening will cost $600 per screening day. This is opposed to a $2000 dollar fee for screenings that charge a ticket price. I will continue to communicate with the venue representatives to determine if a different arrangement can be made, and hopefully we can secure this venue as well. One member brought up the possibility that we can screen the film in the Boarder Theater in Mission. We will look into that possibility very soon. The major commercial theater venues will continue to be considered for this and future events, but the outlook does not look good for their cooperation. Another member indicated that the Edinburg Public Library would be able to host a non-profit organization, so this will be another venue we will pursue. We will continue to post progress on this project as it occurs.

Lastly, we continued our efforts in better honing our argument and persuasion skills by discussing some recent criticisms and concerns that our members have been considering. We were fortunate enough to be provided with a copy of The Zeitgeist Movement Manual which was copied and printed by one of our newest members. I hope all who attended get a chance to read the relevant sections of the document and see if it aids us in our upcoming activism. We also discussed the official movement documents and how they fit in with our techniques and arguments for our cause. There is a great deal of information both in the Member guide and the Venus Project FAQ's that will be vital to know and understand if we are to effectively be conversant and persuasive on a variety of issues. The better informed we are, the better we can inform others.

We concluded with a discussion of some late breaking Venus Project news regarding the Pangea organization in Greece. They have garnered a full endorsement from Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows and are working towards the initial stages of a Resource Based Economy. This is significant news in regards to just how soon we can start thinking of this movement's goals coming to fruition. As we continue to monitor and assess their efforts, we can gain confidence in ability of this new system to truly resolve fundamental issues and bring true hope to those who have been waiting for it for such a long time.

The next meeting will likely be on December 18th, and we will announce the details of that meeting as they emerge. Thank you for your time and attention, and I hope to see you this Friday in McAllen. Please remember to dress warmly and bring beverages and a snack if you plan on staying for an extended period of time. Let's have a safe and fruitful event for all of us involved!